Storage medium, system, setting method, and information processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

To reduce user effort in setting notifications based on information from a plurality of devices. A setting method includes registering a plurality of devices, registering devices in the plurality of devices in association with groups, and changing settings of a plurality of notifications to be transmitted to a display of the information processing apparatus, the notifications based on information from a plurality of devices associated with a group, where the settings are changed in such a manner that for each of the devices in the group, the settings are changed all at once, without changing a setting of another notification to be transmitted to the display of the information processing apparatus, the other notification based on information from a device of the plurality of devices that is not in the group.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates to a storage medium, a system, a settingmethod, and an information processing apparatus.

Description of the Related Art

A monitoring system capable of monitoring the statuses of a plurality ofdevices, such as an air conditioner, a television, and a refrigerator,by using a terminal, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, isdisclosed in related art (see International Publication No.WO2020/017051).

In such monitoring system, a notification server obtains statusinformation regarding the plurality of devices via a network. When thenotification server obtains the status information regarding thedevices, the notification server transmits, to a terminal, notificationsabout information in the status information regarding the devices andthe consumed power of the devices. The user can find out the statuses ofthe devices remotely using a notification screen presented on theterminal. The monitoring system can set notification conditions, such asthe time zone and the day of week the notifications are to be sent, foreach of the plurality of devices. This allows the user to turn on or offthe notification for each device by setting notification conditions forthe device.

In the related art, to turn notifications on or off, the notificationsetting of each of the plurality of devices needs to be changed.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide acomputer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing acomputer of an information processing apparatus to execute a controlmethod. The control method includes registering a plurality of devicesand registering devices in the plurality of devices in association withgroups. The control method further includes changing settings of aplurality of notifications to be transmitted to a display of theinformation processing apparatus, the notifications based on informationfrom a plurality of devices associated with a group, where the settingsare changed in such a manner that for each of the devices in the group,the settings are changed all at once, without changing a setting ofanother notification to be transmitted to the display of the informationprocessing apparatus, the other notification based on information from adevice of the plurality of devices that is not in the group.

Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from thefollowing description of example embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of aterminal according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of achat server according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of adevice management server according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating examples of the hardwareconfigurations of a plurality of connected devices according to oneembodiment.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating device registration screens ofthe terminal according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating device-group registrationscreens of the terminal according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a notification switching setting screenof the terminal according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a notification screen of the terminalaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for a device registration process of the terminalaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for device group registration of the terminalaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for the notification process of an MFP accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for the notification process of a printeraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for the notification process of a washing machineaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for the notification process of the devicemanagement server according to one embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for the notification process of the chat serveraccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for the notification display process of theterminal according to one embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for a notification switching setting process ofthe terminal according to one embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described indetail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings. It is to beunderstood that the following example embodiments do not limit the scopeof the invention according to the claims and that not all ofcombinations of the features described in the embodiments are absolutelynecessary for the solution of every embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration ofthe present disclosure. The system configuration of this embodiment issuch that a terminal 200, which is an example of an informationprocessing apparatus, and a plurality of connected devices 500 a to 500e are communicably connected to a device management server 400 and achat server 300 via a network 100. The network 100 of this embodimentmay be either the Internet or a local area network (LAN). The network100 may be wired or wireless. The terminal 200 is a user-ownedelectronic device, such as a personal computer (PC), a smartphone, or atablet PC. The user monitors the statuses of a plurality of connecteddevices and gives instructions for control via the terminal 200. Thechat server 300 transmits various notifications about the statuses ofthe connected devices transmitted from the device management server 400to the terminal 200. The device management server 400 monitors andcontrols the operations of the plurality of connected devices via thenetwork 100. The device management server 400 also obtains the statusesof the connected devices and transmits a notification message containingthe statuses of the devices to the chat server 300 to notify the user ofthe statuses. The chat server 300 and the device management server 400may be constituted by one server.

Examples of the connected devices include various electrical productsinstalled in offices or houses, such as multifunctional peripherals(MFPs), lights, air conditioners, refrigerators, electronic ovens, andtelevisions. These connected devices are communicably connected to thedevice management server 400 via the network 100. The connected devicescan receive control instructions and transmit status information from/tothe device management server 400 by registering registered-unitinformation including information on the connected devices with thedevice management server 400. In this embodiment, an MFP 1 (500 a), anMFP 2 (500 b), a printer (500 c), a washing machine (500 d), and a ricecooker (500 e) are connected to the device management server 400 via thenetwork 100. In the following description, in the case where commonprocesses are performed in the connected devices 500 a to 500 e, theconnected devices 500 a to 500 e are collectively described as aconnected device 500.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardwareconfiguration of the terminal 200. An operation unit 201 has a touchpanel function capable of detecting a touch operation of the user anddisplays various screens that the operating system (OS) and a chatapplication provide. The user can input desired operator instructions tothe terminal 200 by inputting touch operations to the operation unit201. The operator instructions may be input to the terminal 200 usinghardware keys (not shown). A camera 202 captures an image according toan image capturing instruction of the user. The terminal 200 cantransmit and receive data to and from various peripheral devices via anear field communication (NFC) 203, or Bluetooth 204. A communicationunit 205 communicates with the chat server 300 connected via the network100 to receive notifications and exchange messages. The communicationunit 205 may perform wired communication using Ethernet® or wirelesscommunication, such as Wi-Fi. A central processing unit (CPU) 206 readscontrol programs stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 207 and executesvarious processes for controlling the operation of the terminal 200. TheROM 207 stores control programs. A random-access memory (RAM) 208 isused as a temporary storage area such as the main memory and a workmemory of the CPU 206.

A storage 209 stores various data, such as pictures and electronicdocuments.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardwareconfiguration of the chat server 300. A communication unit 301 cantransmit and receive data to and from the terminal 200 and the devicemanagement server 400 via the Internet 100. A hard disk drive (HDD) 302stores various data, such as user information, notification messages,and image data. The HDD 302 also stores a chat application 303 forexecuting a chat service and can execute exchange of messages betweenusers and give notification to a specific user. The transmission ofmessages and notification can be performed by designating an ID thatuniquely identifies the user or an identifier that uniquely identifiesthe terminal 200 as an address. The user can use the chat service byregistering in advance user information including the user ID and theidentifier of the terminal 200 with the chat server 300. The registereduser information may be shared with the device management server 400. ACPU 304 reads control programs stored in a ROM 305 and executes variousprocesses for controlling the operation of the chat server 300. The ROM305 stores control programs. A RAM 306 is used as a temporary storagearea such as the main memory and a work memory of the CPU 304.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardwareconfiguration of the device management server 400. A communication unit401 can transmit and receive data to and from the connected device 500and the chat server 300 via the Internet 100. The communication unit 401obtains status information indicating the status of the connected device500. Examples of the status information include the operating status ofthe connected device 500, setting information, error information, andthe kind of event occurred. To register a device or obtain statusinformation on the connected device 500, user information including theuser ID and the identifier of the terminal 200 need to be registeredwith the device management server 400 in advance. The registered userinformation may be shared with the chat server 300. An HDD 402 storesvarious data, such as user information, registered-unit information onthe connected device 500 registered by the user, connected-device-groupinformation, connected-device notification settings, and statusinformation obtained from the connected device 500. A CPU 403 readscontrol programs stored in a ROM 404 and execute various processes forcontrolling the operation of the device management server 400. The ROM404 stores control programs. A RAM 405 is used as a temporary storagearea such as the main memory and a work memory of the CPU 403.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating examples of the hardware configurationsof connected devices, the MFP 1(500 a), the printer (500 c), and thewashing machine (500 d).

The MFP 1(500 a) includes a CPU 501 a, a ROM 502 a, a RAM 503 a, astorage 504 a, an operation unit 505 a, a printing unit 506 a, a readingunit 507 a, and a communication unit 508 a. The CPU 501 a controls theoperation of the entire MFP 1(500 a). The CPU 501 a reads controlprograms stored in the ROM 502 a or the storage 504 a into the RAM 503 ato perform various control operations, such as read control and printcontrol. The ROM 502 a stores control programs that can be executed bythe CPU 501 a. The RAM 503 a is a main memory and is used as a temporarystorage area for decompressing various control programs stored in a workarea, the ROM 502 a, and the storage 504 a. The storage 504 a storesimage data, print data, various programs, and various items of settinginformation. In this embodiment, the storage 504 a is a flash memory.Other examples include auxiliary storages, such as a solid state drive(SSD) and a hard disk drive (HDD). Another example is an embeddedmultimedia card (eMMC). The MFP 1 (500 a) of this embodiment executes asequence of processes, described later, that one CPU 501 a executesusing one memory (RAM 503 a). This is however illustrative only. Forexample, a plurality of components, the CPU, the RAM, the ROM, and thestorage, may be cooperated to execute the flowchart described later.Part of the processes may be executed using a hardware circuit, such asan application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA). Examples of the operation unit 505 ainclude a display, such as a touch panel, and hard keys. The operationunit 505 a displays information for the user and detects an input fromthe user. The printing unit 506 a can print image data (print data)stored in the RAM 503 a on recording paper fed from a paper cassette.The reading unit 507 a reads an image on the document. The CPU 501 aconverts the image to image data, such as binary data. The image datagenerated from the image read by the reading unit 507 a is transmittedto an external device or printed on recording paper. The communicationunit 508 a connects to the network 100. The communication unit 508 atransits status information on the device to the device managementserver 400. Examples of the status information include the status ofjobs, such as copying and FAX, notifications of the remaining amounts orshortage of toner and printing paper (recording materials), errorinformation, such as a fault location, and the type of event occurred.The communication unit 508 a transmits image data to an external deviceon the network 100 or receives print data from the terminal 200.Examples or a method of transmission and reception via the network 100include transmission and reception via email and file transmission usinganother protocol (for example, a file transfer protocol (FTP), servermessage block (SMB), and web-based distributed authoring and versioning(WEBDAV)). Another example is transmission and reception of image dataand various setting data via the network 100 from the terminal 200 byhypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) communication.

The printer (500 c) includes a CPU 501 c, a ROM 502 c, a RAM 503 c, astorage 504 c, an operation unit 505 c, a printing unit 506 c, and acommunication unit 507 c. The CPU 501 c controls the operation of theentire printer (500 c). The CPU 501 c reads control programs stored inthe ROM 502 c or the storage 504 c into the RAM 503 c to perform variouscontrol operations, such as print control. The ROM 502 c stores controlprograms that can be executed by the CPU 501 c. The RAM 503 c is a mainmemory and is used as a temporary storage area for decompressing variouscontrol programs stored in a work area, the ROM 502 c, and the storage504 c. The storage 504 c stores image data, print data, variousprograms, and various items of setting information. In this embodiment,the storage 504 c is a flash memory. Other examples include auxiliarystorages, such as an SSD and an HDD. Another example is an eMMC. Theprinter (500 c) of this embodiment executes a sequence of processes,described later, that one CPU 501 c executes using one memory (RAM 503c). This is however illustrative only. For example, a plurality ofcomponents, the CPU, the RAM, the ROM, and the storage, may becooperated to execute the flowchart described later. Part of theprocesses may be executed using a hardware circuit, such as an ASIC oran FPGA. Examples of the operation unit 505 c include a display, such asa touch panel, and hard keys. The operation unit 505 c displaysinformation for the user and detects an input from the user. Theprinting unit 506 c can print image data (print data) stored in the RAM503 c on recording paper fed from a paper cassette. The communicationunit 507 c connects to the network 100. The communication unit 507 ctransits status information on the device to the device managementserver 400. Examples of the status information include the status of aprint job, notifications of the remaining amounts or shortage of tonerand printing paper (recording materials), error information, such as afailure, and the type of event occurred. The communication unit 507 calso receives print data from the terminal 200 on the network 100.

The washing machine (500 d) includes a CPU 501 d, a ROM 502 d, a RAM 503d, an operation unit 504 d, a motor control unit 505 d, a water-levelcontrol unit 506 d, and a communication unit 507 d. The CPU 501 dcontrols the operation of the entire washing machine (500 d). The CPU501 d reads control programs stored in the ROM 502 d into the RAM 503 dto perform various control operations, such as motor control andwater-level control. The ROM 502 d stores control programs that can beexecuted by the CPU 501 d. The RAM 503 d is a main memory and is used asa temporary storage area for decompressing various control programsstored in a work area and the ROM 502 d. Examples of the operation unit504 d include a display, such as a touch panel, and hard keys. The motorcontrol unit 505 d controls the rotational speed of the motor of thewashing tub. The water-level control unit 506 d controls the water levelof the washing tub and controls the feeding and discharging of water.The communication unit 507 d connects to the network 100. Thecommunication unit 507 d connects to the network 100. The communicationunit 507 d transits status information on the device to the devicemanagement server 400. Examples of the status information includeoperating status, error information, such as a failure, and the type ofevent occurred. The communication unit 507 d also receives controlinstructions from an external device on the network 100.

FIGS. 6A to 6C illustrate examples of screens, displayed on theoperation unit 201 of the terminal 200, for registering connecteddevices with the device management server 400.

A screen 600 a displays connected devices registered with the devicemanagement server 400, in which any given names that the user gives tothe connected devices and the categories of the connected devices arelisted in a column 601 and a column 602, respectively. Examples of thecategories of the connected devices include a multifunctional device, aprinter, a rice cooker, and a washing machine. The user registers userinformation with the device management server 400 in advance beforeregistering the devices. When registering an additional device with thedevice management server 400, the user selects an add device button 603displayed on the screen 600 a.

A screen 600 b is a screen displayed when the user selects the adddevice button 603, in which devices that are not registered with thedevice management server 400 are listed. The screen 600 b displays thecategories and the product names of the devices. The devices listed maybe devices that are recognized via the NFC 203 or the Bluetooth 204provided in the terminal 200 or devices on the same network. The userselects a desired device to be registered with the device managementserver 400 from the devices displayed on the screen 600 b.

A screen 600 c is a screen displayed when the user selects any one ofthe devices listed on the screen 600 b, in which the category of thedevice selected on the screen 600 b and the product name “printer(PRINTER-2000B)” are displayed in a field 605.

The screen 600 c also displays a name field 606 for the selected device.The user enters any name in the name field 606. By entering the name andselecting a register button 607, registered-unit information istransmitted to the device management server 400, and the registration iscompleted. Examples of the registered-unit information include, inaddition to the name entered on the screen 600 c, the category, theproduct name, and the media access control (MAC) address of the device.The registered-unit information further includes identificationinformation that is uniquely assigned to the device, such as a serialnumber, and information on the user who registered.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating examples of screens forconnected-device group registration displayed on the operation unit 201of the terminal 200. The group registration means that a user registersone or more connected devices together as one group on the devicemanagement server 400.

A screen 700 a is a screen that displays connected-device groupinformation, in which connected devices registered with the devicemanagement server 400 are displayed. In this embodiment, the screen 700a displays a list of any names the user gives to the connected devicesand a list of groups to which the connected devices belong in a column701 and a column 702, respectively. To register a new group with thedevice management server 400, the user selects a new-group registerbutton 703 displayed on the screen 700 a.

A screen 700 b is a screen displayed when the user selects the new-groupregister button 703. The screen 700 b displays a group name field 704 inwhich the name of a group to be newly created, in which the user canenter any group name. A connected-device field 705 displays connecteddevices and check boxes 706 for selecting whether to include theconnected devices in the new group. By the user checking the connecteddevices to be included the new group and thereafter selecting a registerbutton 707, the group information is transmitted to the devicemanagement server 400, and the group registration is completed. Examplesof the group information include the group name entered on the screen700 b, the registered-unit information on the checked connected devices,and information on the user who created the group. In the example of thescreen 700 b, three connected devices, “study room printer”, “homekitchen rice cooker”, and “home washing machine”, are included the groupnamed “home electrical appliance”. In this embodiment, connected devicesbelong to one group. Alternatively, the connected devices may beincluded in a plurality of hierarchical groups. For example, “headoffice 1F multifunctional device may be included in two groups, a “headoffice printer” group and a “head office 1F printer” group, which is asubgroup of the “head office printer” group.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification settingscreen displayed on the operation unit 201 of the terminal 200. Thenotification setting screen 800 allows switching of notificationsettings on whether to display various notifications of the status ofthe connected device 500 generated by the device management server 400on the terminal 200. The notification settings set on the notificationsetting screen 800 are transmitted to the device management server 400for storage.

The notification setting screen 800 displays groups registered with thedevice management server 400 and connected devices that belong to thegroups. The notification setting screen 800 also displays toggleswitches for group notification switch setting on whether to displaynotifications including status information on all the connected devicesthat belong to the groups on the terminal 200. The user can switch groupnotification settings all at once so as not to display notifications onall the connected devices included in the group by turning “OFF” thetoggle switches for group notification switch settings. Likewise, theuser can switch the group notification settings all at once so as todisplay notifications on all the connected devices included in the groupby turning “ON” the toggle switches for group notification switchsettings. For example, the notification setting screen 800 displays a“head office printer” group 801, which is a group registered with thedevice management server 400, a “head office 1F multifunctional device”802, and a “head office 2F multifunctional device” 803 that belong tothe group. The user can turn “OFF” the respective notification settings811 and 812 of the connected devices 802 and 803 that belong to the“head office printer” group 801 all at once by turning “OFF” a groupnotification switch setting 810 of the “head office printer” group 801.Likewise, the notification setting screen 800 displays a “homeelectrical appliance” group 804 and all the connected devices thatbelong to the “home electrical appliance” group 804, a “study roomprinter” 805, a “home kitchen rice cooker” 806, and a “home washingmachine” 807. The user can turn “ON” the respective notificationsettings 814, 815, and 816 of the connected devices 805, 806, and 807that belong to the “home electrical appliance” group 804 all at once byturning “ON” a group notification switch setting 813 of the “homeelectrical appliance” group 804. The connected devices that do notbelong to any groups may be collectively displayed as “not grouped” 808,as in the notification setting screen 800.

A group notification switch setting 817 for the “not grouped” 808 is“OFF”, and a notification setting 818 for a “branch A printer” 809 thatdoes not belong to any group is turned “OFF” in cooperation.Alternatively, a notification setting different from the groupnotification switch setting of the group to which the connected devicebelongs may be made by individually changing the notification settingsof the connected devices. For example, even when the group notificationswitch setting 813 of the “home electrical appliance” group 804 is “ON”,only the notification setting 814 of the study room printer 805 may beturned “OFF”. If the connected devices belong to a plurality ofhierarchical groups, subgroup notification switch settings andnotification settings for all connected devices that belong to thesubgroup may be switched all at once by switching the group notificationswitch setting for a higher group. The group notification switchsettings of subgroups may be switched to notification settings differentfrom a higher group notification switch setting. For example, the groupnotification switch setting of a higher group, the “head office printer”group, is turned “ON”, and in this state, the group notification switchsetting of the subgroup, “head office 1F printer” group, may be turned“OFF”, and the group notification switch setting of the “head office 2Fprinter” may be turned “ON”. In this case, the notification settings ofthe connected devices that belong to the “head office 1F printer” groupare tuned “OFF” all at once, and the notification settings of theconnected devices that belong to the “head office 2F printer” group aretuned “ON” all at once.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for a notification switching process that isstarted when the group notification switch setting 810 on the screen 800in FIG. 8 displayed on the operation unit 201 of the terminal 200 isselected. The individual operations (steps) in the flowchart areexecuted by the CPU 206 that reads control programs stored in the ROM207 or the storage 209 into the RAM 208. Here is an example in which thegroup notification switch setting 810 is selected. The process shown inthe flowchart of FIG. 18 is executed also when the group notificationswitch setting 813 or the group notification switch setting 817 isselected.

At S1801, the CPU 206 determines whether the group notification switchsetting 810 has been changed to ON. When the group notification switchsetting 810 is selected by the user, with the group notification switchsetting 810 at OFF, the CPU 206 determines that the group notificationswitch setting 810 is changed to ON. If the CPU 206 determines that thegroup notification switch setting 810 has been changed to ON, the CPU206 proceeds to S1802. If the CPU 206 determines that the groupnotification switch setting 810 has not been changed to ON, the CPU 206proceeds to S1810.

At S1802, the CPU 206 stores a variable N in the RAM 208 and sets thevariable N to 1.

At S1803, the CPU 206 changes the notification setting of the N-thdevice of the group of the group notification switch setting 810 to ON.If the original notification setting of the N-th device is OFF, the CPU206 changes the setting to ON. If the original notification setting ofthe N-th device is ON, the CPU 206 keeps the setting.

At S1804, the CPU 206 determines whether there is another device in thegroup.

If the CPU 206 determines that there is another device in the group, theCPU 206 proceeds to S1805. If the CPU 206 determines that there is noanother device in the group, the CPU 206 ends the process shown in theflowchart of FIG. 18 .

If the process is advanced from S1801 to S1810, the CPU 206 determineswhether the group notification switch setting 810 has been changed toOFF. If the group notification switch setting 810 is selected by theuser, with the group notification switch setting 810 at ON, the CPU 206determines that the group notification switch setting 810 has beenchanged to OFF. If the CPU 206 determines that the group notificationswitch setting 810 has not been changed to OFF, the CPU 206 proceeds toS1806. In contrast, if the CPU 206 determines that the groupnotification switch setting 810 has not been changed to OFF, the CPU 206proceeds to S1801.

At S1806, the CPU 206 stores the variable N in the RAM 208 and sets thevariable N to 1.

At S1807, the CPU 206 changes the notification setting of the N-thdevice of the group of the group notification switch setting 810 to OFF.If the original notification setting of the N-th device is ON, the CPU206 changes the setting to OFF. If the original notification setting ofthe N-th device is OFF, the CPU 206 keeps the setting.

At S1808, the CPU 206 determines whether there is another device in thegroup.

If the CPU 206 determines that there is another device in the group, theCPU 206 proceeds to S1809. If the CPU 206 determines that there is noanother device in the group, the CPU 206 ends the process shown in theflowchart of FIG. 18 .

The on/off notification settings of the individual connected devices,set on the screen 800, are transmitted to the device management server400 for storage.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a notification screendisplayed on the operation unit 201 of the terminal 200. Thenotification screen 900 displays notifications of the statuses ofconnected devices transmitted from the chat server 300. The notificationscreen 900 displays two notifications 901 and 905. Each notificationcontains the icon and the name 902 of the connected device, notificationdate 903, and a message 904 about the status of connected device, asshown in the notification 901. The notification 901 shows that theterminal 200 has received a notification about the status of a connecteddevice named “home washing machine” on “2021/10/5 10:21”. A notificationthat laundry with “home washing machine” finished at 10:21 is given tothe user as a message. Likewise, the notification 905 shows that theterminal 200 has received a notification about the status of a connecteddevice named “study room printer” on “2021/10/5 11:45”. A notificationthat printing of “study room printer” has been successfully completed isgiven to the user as a message. The notification screen 900 may bedisplayed on a chat application that is installed in the terminal 200and that communicates with the chat server 300 to provide a chatservice. Alternatively, the notification screen 900 may be displayed ona status area or a lock screen that is normally displayed on theoperation unit 201.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for device registration started when the adddevice button 603 on the screen 600 a displayed on the operation unit201 of the terminal 200. The individual operations (steps) in theflowchart are executed by the CPU 206 that reads control programs storedin the ROM 207 or the storage 209 into the RAM 208.

At S1001, the CPU 206 searches for a device to be registered with thedevice management server 400 and obtains identification information foruniquely identifying the device. For a method of search, devices on thesame network (LAN) may be detected according to an address resolutionprotocol (ARP) via the communication unit 205. Alternatively, devicesmay be detected via a short-range communication, such as the NFC 203 orthe Bluetooth 204. Examples of the identification information includethe media access control (MAC) address or the serial number of eachdevice.

At S1002, the CPU 206 determines whether the identification informationon the devices found by the search of S1001 have been registered withthe device management server 400 by inquiring the device managementserver 400. If the result of the inquiry shows that the devices found atS1001 include one or more device that are not registered with the devicemanagement server 400, the process goes to S1003. In contrast, if thereis no device that is not registered with the device management server400, the device registering process ends.

At S1003, the CPU 206 displays a list of devices that are determined notto be registered with the device management server 400 at S1002 on thescreen 600 b.

At S1004, the terminal 200 receives selection of any one of the devicesdisplayed on the screen 600 b by an operation on the operation unit 201.

At S1005, the CPU 206 enters information necessary as registered-unitinformation, such as the name of the device selected at S1004, on thescreen 600 c.

At S1006, the terminal 200 receives selection of the register button 607displayed on the screen 600 c via the operation unit 201.

At S1007, the CPU 206 transmits the registered-unit information to thedevice management server 400 via the communication unit 205.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for group registration started when a new-groupregister button 703 on the screen 700 a displayed on the operation unit201 of the terminal 200. The individual operations (steps) in theflowchart are executed by the CPU 206 that reads control programs storedin the ROM 207 or the storage 209 into the RAM 208.

At S1101, the CPU 206 obtains registered-unit information registeredwith the device management server 400 and displays a list of theregistered devices on the screen 700 b. At S1101, the device managementserver 400 transmits only the registered-unit information that the userwho is executing this flowchart registers to the terminal 200. Theregistered-unit information to be transmitted by the device managementserver 400 may be changed according to other conditions.

At S1102, the terminal 200 receives the entry of a group name into agroup name field 604 on the screen 700 b from the user and selects oneor more connected devices to be grouped.

At S1103, the terminal 200 receives selection on the register button 607displayed on the screen 700 c from the user.

At S1104, the CPU 206 transmits group information to the devicemanagement server 400 via the communication unit 205.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for the process whereby the MFP 1 (500 a)transmits status information to the device management server 400. Theindividual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU501 a that reads control programs stored in the ROM 502 a or the storage504 a into the RAM 503 a.

At S1201, the CPU 501 a detects an event. Examples of the event includecompletion of copying, faxing, or another job executed by the MFP 1 (500a), the fact that the remaining amount of toner or printing paper hasfallen below a predetermined threshold, and the occurrence of a failure.An instruction to transmit status information from the device managementserver 400 is also included in the event.

At S1202, the CPU 501 a collects status information to be transmitted tothe device management server 400. The status information collected bythe CPU 501 a includes the operating status of the 1 MFP 1 (500 a),setting information, error information, and event type. The informationto be collected may be changed according to the event. For example, inthe case of the event of job completion, the type and date of thecompleted job and the result of the job may be collected, and in thecase of the event of a failure, information on the failure location andfailure date may be collected.

At S1203, the CPU 501 a controls the communication unit 508 a so thatthe communication unit 508 a transmits the collected status informationto the device management server 400.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for the process whereby the printer (500 c)transmits status information to the device management server 400. Theindividual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU501 c that reads control programs stored in the ROM 502 c or the storage504 c into the RAM 503 c.

At S1301, the CPU 501 c detects an event. Examples of the event includecompletion of printing or another job executed by the printer (500 c),the fact that the remaining amount of toner or printing paper has fallenbelow a predetermined threshold, and the occurrence of a failure. Aninstruction to transmit status information from the device managementserver 400 is also included in the event.

At S1302, the CPU 501 c collects status information to be transmitted tothe device management server 400. The status information collected bythe CPU 501 c includes the operating status of the printer (500 c),setting information, error information, and event type. The informationto be collected may be changed according to the event. For example, inthe case of the event of job completion, the type and date of thecompleted job and the result of the job may be collected, and in thecase of the event of a failure, information on the failure location andfailure date may be collected.

At S1303, the CPU 501 c controls the communication unit 507 c so thatthe communication unit 507 c transmits the collected status informationto the device management server 400.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for the process whereby the washing machine (500d) transmits status information to the device management server 400. Theindividual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU501 d that reads control programs stored in the ROM 502 d into the RAM503 d.

At S1401, the CPU 501 d detects an event. Examples of the event includecompletion of laundry, the fact that it is detected that operationcannot be continued because of inability of supply water or an open lid,and the occurrence of a failure. An instruction to transmit statusinformation from the device management server 400 is also included inthe event.

At S1402, the CPU 501 d collects status information to be transmitted tothe device management server 400. The status information collected bythe CPU 501 d includes the operating status of the washing machine (500d), setting information, error information, and event type. Theinformation to be collected may be changed according to the event. Forexample, in the case of the event of completion of laundry, the date ofthe completion of laundry may be collected, and in the case of the eventof a failure, information on the failure location and failure date maybe collected.

At S1403, the CPU 501 d controls the communication unit 507 d so thatthe communication unit 507 d transmits the collected status informationto the device management server 400.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for the process whereby the device managementserver 400 transmits status information obtained from the connecteddevice 500 to the chat server 300. The individual operations (steps) inthe flowchart are executed by the CPU 403 that reads control programsstored in the ROM 404 or the HDD 402 into the RAM 405.

At S1501, the CPU 403 stores the status information received by thecommunication unit 401 in the HDD 402.

At S1502, the CPU 403 analyzes the status information received at S1501to determine whether the status of the connected device 500 is to bereported to the user. Examples of the status to be reported include thatcompletion of the process executed by the connected device 500 anddetection of a failure of the connected device 500 are included in thestatus information. Notification conditions to be used for thedetermination of whether to give a notification are stored in advance inthe HDD 402 of the device management server 400. Alternatively, thenotification conditions may be set by the user for each connecteddevice. For example, assuming that notification conditions for the MFP1(500 a) include “completion of printing of a received fax document”,when the CPU 403 determines that status information includes an eventtype indicating completion of the printing of a received fax document,the CPU 403 determines that the status is to be reported to the user. Ifthe CPU 403 determines to report the status as a result of analysis, theprocess goes to S1503. If not, the flowchart ends.

At S1503, the CPU 403 obtains the notification setting of the connecteddevice 500 that is determined to be reported at S1502. If the setting is“ON”, the process goes to S1504. If the setting is “OFF”, the flowchartends. Although, at S1503, the group notification switch settingdetermines where the process branches off, the notification setting ofthe connected device that is determined to be reported may be used forthe branch.

At S1504, the CPU 403 creates a notification message. The notificationmessage is created on the basis of the status information. The messagemay be created using a format determined for each event type, or a fixedmessage set by the user may be used. The notification message mayinclude the name and the type of the connected device, an icon, andother information.

At S1505, the CPU 403 searches the registered-unit information stored inthe HDD 402 for user information on the user who registers the connecteddevice 500 that is determined to be reported at S1502.

At S1506, the CPU 403 transmits the user ID and the notification messagecreated at S1504 to the chat server 300 so that the notification messageis sent to the user specified at S1505.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for the process whereby the chat server 300notifies the terminal 200 of the notification message sent from thedevice management server 300. The individual operations (steps) in theflowchart are executed by the CPU 304 that reads control programs storedin the ROM 305 or the HDD 302 into the RAM 306.

At S1601, the CPU 304 detects reception of the notification message andthe destination, or the user ID, transmitted from the device managementserver 400 via the communication unit 301.

At S1602, the CPU 304 stores the notification message received at S1601in the message history of the destination user. The notification messagestored in the message history can be tracked back by the user.

At S1603, the CPU 304 notifies the destination user of the notificationmessage received at S1601. In this embodiment, the notification isprovided to the terminal 200 via a distribution server (not shown) thatmakes a push notification by transmitting the notification message andthe identifier of the terminal 200 of the user to the distributionserver.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart for the process whereby the terminal 200 displaysthe notification message transmitted from the chat server 300. Theindividual operations (steps) in the flowchart are executed by the CPU206 that reads control programs stored in the ROM 207 or the storage 209into the RAM 208.

At S1701, the CPU 206 detects the communication unit 205 having receivedthe notification message transmitted from chat server 300.

At S1702, the CPU 206 displays the notification message received atS1701 on the notification screen 900.

This embodiment shows an example in which the device management server400 determines at S1503 whether to generate a notification message atS1504. However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited tothe above example. For example, the device management server 400 mayomit step S1503 and necessarily perform the creation and the posting ofthe notification message from steps S1504 to S1506 to the chat server300 and may operate as follows. The terminal 200 may access the chatserver 300 to determine whether to display the notification message onthe notification screen 900 according to a group notification switchsetting or a connected-device notification setting. In this case, thechat server 300 dese not transmit the notification message to thedistribution server and only adds the message to the history at S1602.The terminal 200 determines whether to display the notification messageat the timing when the chat server 300 obtains the history of themessage.

Alternatively, the device management server 400 may omit step S1503 andnecessarily perform the creation and the posting of the notificationmessage from steps S1504 to S1506 to the chat server 300 and may operateas follows. The device management server 400 may determine whether totransmit the notification message and the identifier of the terminal 200of the user to a distribution server (not shown) that makes a pushnotification on the basis of the notification setting of the connecteddevice whose status information is transmitted. If the connected-devicenotification setting is enabled, the device management server 400instructs the chat server 300 to transmit the notification message andthe identifier of the terminal 200 of the user to the distributionserver (not shown). This enables the terminal 200 to display thenotification message on a lock screen or the like even without anotification display instruction from the user. If the connected-devicenotification setting is disabled, the device management server 400instructs the chat server 300 not to transmit the notification messageand the identifier of the terminal 200 of the user to the distributionserver (not shown). In this case, the terminal 200 does not need todisplay the notification message on the lock screen or the like.

Thus, one or more connected devices can be registered with groups, andsettings of notifications to the operation unit 201 of the terminal 200based on information from the plurality of devices that belong to theplurality of groups can be changed all at once for each group. Thiseliminates, when the user wants to receive notifications from homeelectrical appliance, the need to enable the respective notificationsettings of the study room printer 805, the home kitchen rice cooker815, and the home washing machine 816. By selecting the groupnotification switch setting 813 instead, the settings of a plurality ofconnected devices registered with a home electrical appliance group canbe changed all at once.

Thus, when leaving the office, the user can change the notificationsettings based on the information on the connected devices in the headoffice printer group to OFF all at once using the group notificationswitch setting 810. When coming home, the user can turn on thenotification settings based on the information on the connected devicesin the home electrical appliance group all at once using the groupnotification switch setting 813.

The enable/disable of the notification settings of the individualconnected devices set on the screen 800 may be stored in the chat server300, and the chat server 300 may determine whether to post messages ofthe connected devices. If the notification setting of a certainconnected device set on the screen 800 is enabled, the chat server 300stores the enabled notification setting of the connected device. When anotification of the status information on the connected device is given,the chat server 300 posts a message based on the notification. Incontrast, if the notification setting of a certain connected device seton the screen 800 is disabled, the chat server 300 stores the disablednotification setting of the connected device. When a notification of thestatus information on the connected device is given, the chat server 300does not post a message based on the notification. This is an example ofwhether to perform posting. Alternatively, a push notification of amessage to the terminal 200 may be performed. If the notificationsetting of a certain connected device set on the screen 800 is enabled,the chat server 300 stores the enabled notification setting of theconnected device. When a notification of the status information of theconnected device is given, the chat server 300 transmits thenotification message and the identifier of the terminal 200 of the userto a distribution server (not shown) that makes a push notification. Inother words, the chat server 300 makes the lock screen or the homescreen of the terminal 200 automatically display the message even if nomessage display instruction is given by the user. In contrast, if thenotification setting of a certain connected device set on the screen 800is disabled, the chat server 300 stores the disabled notificationsetting of the connected device. When a notification of the statusinformation of the connected device is given, the chat server 300 doesnot transmit the notification message and the identifier of the terminal200 of the user to the distribution server (not shown) that makes a pushnotification. In other words, the chat server 300 makes the lock screenor the home screen of the terminal 200 not to automatically display themessage. This facilitates setting of whether to post a message or make apush notification on the basis of a connected-device notificationsetting by the user via the screen 800.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiment(s) of the present disclosure can also be realized bya computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While example embodiments are described, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to the disclosed example embodiments. The scopeof the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation soas to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2021-186701, filed Nov. 16, 2021, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-readable storage medium storing aprogram for causing a computer of an information processing apparatus toexecute a control method, the control method comprising: registering aplurality of devices; registering devices in the plurality of devices inassociation with groups; and changing settings of a plurality ofnotifications to be transmitted to a display of the informationprocessing apparatus, the notifications based on information from aplurality of devices associated with a group, where the settings arechanged in such a manner that for each of the devices in the group, thesettings are changed all at once, without changing a setting of anothernotification to be transmitted to the display of the informationprocessing apparatus, the other notification based on information from adevice of the plurality of devices that is not in the group.
 2. Thestorage medium according to claim 1, wherein the settings of thenotifications to be transmitted to the display of the informationprocessing apparatus, the notifications based on the information fromthe plurality of devices in the one group, are changed all at oncewithout changing a setting of a notification to be transmitted to thedisplay based on information from a device in another group.
 3. Thestorage medium according to claim 1, wherein respective settings ofrespective notifications of the plurality of devices in the one groupare individually changeable separately from the settings of thenotifications to be transmitted to the display based on the informationfrom the plurality of devices in the one group.
 4. The storage mediumaccording to claim 1, wherein settings of notifications of devices thatare not registered with any group are changeable all at once.
 5. Thestorage medium according to claim 4, wherein the settings of therespective notifications of the plurality of devices that are notregistered with any group are able to be changed.
 6. The storage mediumaccording to claim 1, the method further comprising: creating anadditional group.
 7. The storage medium according to claim 1, whereinthe information from the plurality of devices comprises informationbased on events generated in the plurality of devices.
 8. The storagemedium according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of devices includes amultifunctional device capable of printing.
 9. The storage mediumaccording to claim 8, wherein the information comprises information thatindicates shortage of recording materials in the multifunctional device.10. The storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the informationprocessing apparatus comprises a smartphone.
 11. A system comprising: adevice management server configured to obtain device information from aplurality of devices; a chat server configured to transmit, to aninformation processing apparatus, notifications based on the informationobtained by the device management server; a registration unit configuredto register the individual devices in association with groups; a settingunit configured to set, all at once, for each of the groups, whether toenable notifications based on information from the plurality of devicesin the group registered by the registration unit as being associatedwith the group; a determination unit configured to determine whether thenotifications are set to be enabled by the setting unit; a generationunit configured to, when it is determined that the notifications are setto be enabled, generate notifications based on the device information;and a transmission unit configured to transmit the notificationsgenerated by the generation unit to the information processingapparatus.
 12. A setting method comprising: registering a plurality ofdevices; registering devices in the plurality of devices with groups;and changing settings of notifications to a display of the informationprocessing apparatus based on information from a plurality of devices inone group all at once without changing a setting of a notification tothe display of the information processing apparatus based on informationfrom a device not in the one group.
 13. An information processingapparatus comprising: a first registration unit configured to register aplurality of devices; a second registration unit configured to registerdevices in the plurality of devices with groups; and a changing unitconfigured to change settings of notifications to a display of theinformation processing apparatus based on information from a pluralityof devices in one group all at once without changing a setting of anotification to the display of the information processing apparatusbased on information from a device not in the one group.